Blair William & Co. IL Boosts Stock Position in Sempra Energy $SRE

Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,006 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Rice Partnership LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $428,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.3% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 619,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,936,000 after buying an additional 52,668 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.1% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 12,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 34,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,606,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.4% in the second quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,987,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $91.10 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $84.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $59.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $93.00 price target (up from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total transaction of $2,430,637.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,303,149.75. This represents a 65.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,987 shares of company stock valued at $4,267,870. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Profile

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.